ANTEC® Conference Poster Presentation Guidelines

A poster presentation is an ideal way to communicate ideas and results and to foster one-on-one contacts with the audience. Poster presentations are not conducted from a podium. Presenting authors convert their manuscripts and concepts to a single page poster format. Presenters speak informally with individual or small groups of attendees who stop by to discuss their findings.

Depending upon the event, each poster presentation will be assigned a time slot and flat screen position (for digital posters) or a poster board (pushpins will be provided). Electricity and audiovisual equipment will not be available or permitted in the Poster Presentation area. You must be present during the assigned period to answer questions from attendees about your presentation and wear your ANTEC® speaker registration badge in order to gain entry to the area.

Here are some suggestions for preparing your poster:

Convey the Message – In presenting to a technical audience, the key is to convey the important points of your work as clearly and succinctly as possible. Decide on the major point(s) you are trying to make and then provide convincing evidence to support your point(s). Use a minimum of written words; rely instead on effective visuals (schematics, photographs, plots, bulleted lists).

Use the Poster Template – A set of posters with the same template give a professional look and feel to the poster presentation area.

Select Colors That Have High Contrast – When designing your visual materials, pick colors that have high contrast so that the text and graphics can be easily seen.

Pick Fonts That Are Large Enough – A general rule is to use a font size in the range of 18 to 36 points. If the font is too small, no one will be able to read the words and the message will be lost.

Use Bullet Points – Instead of full sentences, use bullet points to deliver the key ideas on your visuals. When using bullet points, make sure not to put too much information on a visual. The “6 by 6” guideline is good to follow – each bullet should have no more than 6 words and each visual should have no more than 6 bullet points.

Build Bullet Text Points – When using bullet points, build them one by one on the visual using the build animation effect. This way, you can speak about each point individually and the audience will know which idea you are expanding upon.

Use Charts Effectively– Charts –graphs and tables – can be a great way to present information if they are used properly. Use tables sparingly; a graph can often convey the same information more effectively.